I think expresses the urge to have a jovial celebation, but not in the gay way the emoticon does, but in a more manly, serious and all-around cool way
However, seeing how some people in this thread have used it, it could just as well be an jack-of-all-trades type of smiley to express hopeless moronity.
expresses the urge to have a jovial celebation, but not in the gay way the 
emoticon does, but in a more manly, serious and all-around cool way 
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